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Liv handed me the letter, and I dialed the number that Piper had written under her signature. After a few rings, a woman answered the phone, “Hello?”
My gut was jumbled with nerves. “Is this the Andrews’ residence?”
“It is. Who is this?”
I stood and cleared my throat. “My name is Lincoln Bennett. I’m calling because I got a letter from my—I mean, your daughter, Piper, about a meeting.”
A few seconds of silence passed, then Mrs. Andrews responded. “Oh, yes. Piper has been begging us to meet you and her birth mother. I wasn’t sure if you received her letter or not.”
A little of my anxiety ebbed as I gave Liv a thumbs-up. “I did. We were wondering if we could set something up for this weekend?”
“Well, Piper has dance class Saturday mornings. Maybe we could meet after that for lunch and go from there.”
I couldn’t stop the smile that formed on my face. “That sounds great. Just let us know when and where, and we’ll be there.”
When I hung up, Liv’s eyes were wide with anticipation as she asked, “Well, what’d they say?”
“We’re meeting them after Piper’s dance class on Saturday at the Kountry Kitchen in Morehead City at noon.”
Morehead City was a town about five miles from Beaufort right on the other side of the Newport River.
Liv had the biggest smile on her face as she jumped up and threw her arms around me. I twirled her around as she giggled, unable to contain the joy that filled me. I felt like I was on top of the world.
When I set Liv down, she had tears in her eyes. “Is this really happening?”
I nodded. “It is. We get to see our little girl.”
She looked down at my arms around her waist and stiffened, then stepped back, breaking the magic of our moment. Tucking a small piece of hair behind her ear, she cleared her throat. “I better get back. I told my mom I was just getting some air and then disappeared. She’s probably worried.”
I knew it would take more for Liv to completely let her guard down, but I was glad for the small glimpse beyond her walls. “Sure. Let me get you back home.”
Our ride to Liv’s was silent, but when we pulled up to her parents’ house, she looked over at me and gave me a small smile. “Thank you. For everything.”
“No problem. You know I’m always here for you, Liv. Anything you need, just let me know.”
She grabbed the door handle to get out of the truck, but then stopped. Turning back to me with eyes full of tears, she questioned, “But why, Linc? After everything I did, how can you even stand to look at me?”
I’d thought the same thing myself on several occasions, but the love I had for her trumped any feelings of resentment. She was the mother of my child and the only real love I’d ever had. No one after her had even come close.
I placed my hand over hers and tried to explain how I felt without coming across too strong. “I’m not going to lie, Liv. What you did hurt. There were times when I hated you for leaving me and giving up on us. But I realized you did what you did because you were trying to protect yourself from more pain.”
Tears fell from her eyes. Looking down in shame, she shook her head. “I pushed you away because I blamed myself for everything. I didn’t want to hurt you more than I already had. I didn’t deserve you.”
I tipped her chin up to make eye contact again. “Losing Piper was not your fault. I never blamed you.” I wiped the tears from her cheeks and smiled softly. “But you never listened. You were too stubborn for your own good.”
Her pretty green eyes searched mine like they held all the answers she was seeking. “I’m sorry, Linc. For everything.”
She leaned toward me and wrapped her arms around my middle, hugging me tightly. I closed my eyes, savoring the feel of having her in my arms again as her familiar scent of honeysuckle and sea breeze enveloped me.
I fingered a strand of her hair as I held her. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen between us, if anything, but I’d take whatever I could get from her. Even after all this time, she still had my heart in the palm of her hands.
As we pulled apart, Liv gave me a kiss on the cheek, then got out of the truck. When she reached her porch, she waved, then went inside. I sat there for a few minutes, grinning like a fool from that small kiss on the cheek. Liv had a way of doing things like that to me.
* * *
We had nineteen seconds left on the clock at the end of the fourth quarter of our homecoming game. Down by three, we were at the forty-yard line on third down with twelve yards to go. Liv was cheering for me on the sidelines with the rest of the cheerleading squad, and my heart pounded as I readied for the snap.
“Hut hut!” I shouted, and the ball was shoved into my hands. I pulled back, searching for one of my receivers or running backs to give the ball to. Everyone was covered, and the defense had broken through my offensive line and was rapidly approaching.
